Sewing-machine edge-guide.



F i L J. M. MERROW. SEWING MACHINE EDGE GUIDE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 9, 1909.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

UNITED srarns @FFTC.

rnirn JOSEPH lVL MERROW, F HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE MERROW MACHINE COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, NECTICUT.

CONNECTICUT, .A CORPORATION OF CON- SEWING-MACHINE EDGE-GUIDE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. as, 19114.

Application filed April 9, 1909. Serial No. 488,885.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J osErH M. MERRow, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Edge-Guides; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

This guide is more especially for guiding fabric when folded to form what is generally known as a welt or hem. These welts or home are particularly common in garments of knit goods, and are produced by two folds of the fabric, the first being the folding or doubling back of the fabric uponitself and the second the folding of the doubled back portion, near the center of its width, producing a triple thickness of the fabric and bringing the edge of the same adjacent to the first fold. The edge is secured to the body of the fabric at the line of the first fold, usually by overseam stitches, after which the fabric is flattened out and the edge of the second fold becomes the edge of the garment. The guide is employed in connection with the presser foot or similar element of a sewing machine and so presents the fabric to the needle that the latter does not pass entirely through from one side to the other of the fabric at the line of doubling, but enters and leaves at the same side of the fabric so that when the latter is flattened out the stitches are seen only at one side, thereby producing what is known as the blind stitch hem.

The object of this invention is to provide a blind stitch hemming guide of peculiar construction particularly useful in operating upon very thin fabric and which comprises novel features hereinafter fully described and claimed.

It. is a common practice in welting or hemming to provide the sewing machine (usually of the overseaming type) with means in advance of the point of stitch formation for unrolling or flattening the fabric at its edge when necessary, and also with trimming mechanism intermediate the unrolling device and the point of stitch formation, operating somewhat to the right of the needle (as the machine is viewed from its front side), to trim the edge of the fabric, that the edge may be presented in good conditionto be overseamed, and such unrolling andtrimming devices are illustrated and described in connection with this guide but it will be understood that these features are not essential to this invention.

Theaccompanying drawings show an em bodiment of this invention and immediately related devices, in connection with a portion of an .overseaming machine of the well known Merrow type, as follows Figure 1 is an end elevation of the guide and associated elements in connection with a partially illustrated machine. Fig. 2 shows in front elevation some of the elements shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the guide, enlarged. Fig. his a plan view showing the presser foot with the guide mounted thereon, also the unrolling device and part of the trimming mechanism and in section the needle when in a lowered position. Fig. 5 is a perspective view, partly broken away and partly in section, showing the elements of Fig. 4, but. with the needle in a raised position and with the fabric (exaggerated for clearness) in the process of being operated upon. Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4, with the needle omitted, and shows the folded fabric and in dotted lines the needle plate and part of the work plate. Fig. 7 is a view partly in section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 4 and is similar to the Fig. 6, but shows the parts illustrated as viewed from the opposite direction.

Throughout the drawings, like reference characters denote the same parts.

The number 10 denotes the frame of the machine, 11 the head, 12 the needle plate,

13 the needle plate support, 14 the needle,- 15 the needle carrier, 16 the presser foot, 17 the presser foot lifter, 18 the feed dog, 19 the lower cutter, 20 the lower cutter holder, 21 the upper cutter, 22 the upper cutter carrier and 23 the work plate. The needle carrier 15 is oscillated to cause the needle 14 to reciprocate in a path crossing the needle plate 12 and to cooperate with stitch forming implements (not shown) both above and beneath the needle plate to effect the formation of overseam stitches. The feed dog 18 projects through the needle plate, that it may engage and feed the work to Ward the needle, the work being held down ewd] upon the needle plate by the presser foot l6 which is forced normally downward by a compression spring not here shown. The cutter 19 is stationary and the cooperating upper cutter 21 has vertical reciprocation, and both cutters are adjustable laterally of the direction of the machines feed that the distance between the line of needlepenetration and the line of cutting may be varied. The machine embodies mechanism for driving the needle, the coiiperating stitch forming implements, the feed dog and the upper cutter as is well understood.

The guide 30, Fig.3, is adapted to be secured to the presser foot 16, and the edge of the presser foot adjacent to the needle, from the toe of the presser foot to a point somewhat in advance of the heel or approxi mately at the sideof the path of the needle,

is made straight as indicated at 16 and the said edge is preferably at a slight angle to the direction of the length of a shoulder 16 provided on the under or bearing surface of the heel portion of the presser foot. The shoulder 16 extends from a point in proximity to the path of the needle to the rear end of the foot and is substantially parallel with the direction of the machines feed, consequently the edge 16 which is at a slight angle to the shoulder 16 is also slightly oblique to the direct-ion of the machines feed, the obliquity of the edge 16 being best shown in the Fig. 4, said edge leading toward the left as the machine is viewed from its front side. The guide 30 has a wall 31 on the face of which there is in relief a narrow portion 32, corresponding approximately in outline with the portion of the side of the presser foot having the straight edge 16 At its forward end the wall 31 preferablyprojects beyond the toe of the presser foot portion 32 and at its rear end the said wall is-formed into a chaining finger 33 around which'the overseain stitches are formed and from which they slip as the A work is fed forward. The finger 33 serves to regulate the size of the loops of stitches while sewing, to support the loop while chaining without fabric and as a guard for the needle to prevent the latter from becoming unduly deflected away from the doubled edge which it must penetrate and v the finger can also .be used to very slightly deflect the needle at, every penetration of the fabric to insure fa uniform needle pene- The chaining finger also holds down the lower thickness of fabric against the upper surface of the needle plate while the needleispenetrating the fabric.

The number 3% denotes a plate, refer-ably integral with the guide 30, eaten ing from the upper edge of the wall 31 st right angles to the side faces thereof, the said plate being" adapted to extend oyer the top of the presser foot and to be ad ust-ably secured thereto near-nae beneath the head of a screw 40. The body of the screw passes through an opening 35 in the plate 34, elongated to permit adjust- .ment of the plate, and the threaded end of the screw enters a tapped hole in the presser foot. The plate 34 which might be called the shank of the guide, so supports the wall '31 that the lower surface 36 of the presser foot portion 32 is practically coin-.

cident with the plane of theunder face 16 of the presser foot proper and together with the latter will engage the fabric. The guide is adjustable on the foot laterally of the direction of the machines feed and direc tion is given to such adjustment by a shoulder 16 on the presser foot. This shoulder is engaged by the front edge of the plate 34;, and in order that the portion 32 of the guide may be parallel with the contiguous edge 16 of the presser foot,the front edge of the guide shank 34: is made at an angle slightly less than ninety degrees with respect to the rear portion of the wall 31. The rear end of the portion 32 of the guide is preferably cut out at 37 for the needle 14:.

Assuming the guide 30 to have been secured to the presser foot 16 :The fabric 50 is properly folded into a welt or hem and the triple thickness of the fabric is placed upon the needle plate beneath the presser foot, with the first fold or folded edge 51 engaging the adjacent face of the guide wall 31, as shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7. The engaged face 'of the guide wall 31 is preferably at its portion between its lower edge 31 and the surface 36 of a height approximately equal toa doubled thickness of the fabric so that the said lower edge (which is in a plane parallel with that of. the guide surface 36) engages the face of the lower layer 52 of the folded fabric with approximately the same pressure as that by which the body or single thickness of the goods is engaged by the under face 16 of the presser foot andthe coincident surface '36 of the guide. Tt will be seen that the surface 36, the wall or surface 31 and the lower edge or surface 31 of the said wall, being all formed upon the guide 30, are fixed or stationary relatively to each other so that upon the lateral adjustment of the guide the said several surfaces maintain their relative positions, thereby avoiding the necessarily delicate adjustments that would be required to relatively properly locate the several surfaces. The guide being adjustable on the presser foot permits of its location to so present the.

folded edge 51 of the fabric to the needle, that the latter does not pass entirely through the fabric but splits it, as best seen in Fig. 7, whereby blind stitches may be produced, that is, so that the stitches will show only upon one side of the goods. To assist in the introduction of the goods, the forward end of the guide wall 3f extends llltl' lac beyond the presser foot portion 82 of the guide and the said wall throughout its length is preferably at a slight angle or slightly oblique to the direction of the feed, all as above explained, the latter feature more fully insuring the, engagement of the wall by the folded edge 51 of the fabric at the exact point of needle penetration.

The unrolling device is denoted by the number 60 and is preferably mounted on the guide plate 3st which is cut out at 88 (Fig. 3) to receive the shank 61 of the said device, or the device 60- could be secured directly to the presser foot. The shank 61 projects beyond the guide wall 31 and has a head 62 which extends downwardly adj acentthe said wall and toward its lower edge that the head may engage and unroll the fabric near its edge 53 in advance of the trimming cutters 19 and 21, as best shown in the Fig. 6. The unrolling device is secured to the plate 34: beneath the head of a screw 70 the body of which passes through openings 63 and 39 in the shank 61" and plate 34;, respectively, the threaded end of the screw entering a tapped hole in the presser foot and the said openings being elongated to permit of the adjustment of the unrolling device relatively to the presser foot.

Having now described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a sewing machine, in combination with the presser foot, a welt, guide having a presser footv portion for bearing upon the fabric near the fold in the welt to be stitched to the edge of the fabric, a surface for engaging and guiding the fabric at said fold,

the said surface being slightly oblique to the direction of the machines feed, a surface for bearing upon a layer of the fabric toward a the edge thereof and in proximity to the fold of the welt, and means for securing the gulde to the presser foot.

2. In a sewing machine, in combination, the presser foot, a welt guide for welts folded to produce three layers of material, the guide having three surfaces in fixed relation to each other, v12: a bearing surface substantially coincident with the plane of the bearmg surface of the presser foot, a bearingsurface in a plane parallel with the said coin cident surface and a. guiding surface intermediate the said bearing surfaces and extending in a direction slightly oblique to the direction of the machines feed, and. 7 means for securing the guide to the presser;

foot.

3. In combination with a sewing machine one edge'of which wall forms a surface for bearing upon a layer of the fabric between the fold of the welt and the said edge and one end of which wall is formed into a chaining finger, and means for securing the guide to the presser foot.

1t. In an overseaming machine including a fabric penetrating needle and a presser foot, a welt guide having a surface substantially forming an extension of the under surface of the presser footfor bearing upon the upper face of a-folded welt, an edge guiding wall approximately the height of two thicknesses of the folded welt, the lower edge or surface of said wall forming a bearing surface to rest upon the lower thickness of the folded welt and an extension of said guiding wall being formed into a chaining finger adapted to shed ofi' overseaming stitches and to guard the needle from undue deflection.

MAY C. CARROLL, REGINALD BIRNEY. 

